The White Rose of Memphis

“‘Because I didn’t want her.’

“‘If your Honor please, I think this a competent juror,’ said Mr. Quillet.

“‘What say you for the defense, Mr. Rockland?’

“The iron lawyer waved his hand slowly toward the jury box, without looking up or uttering a word, and Mr. Crookwood took his seat.

“The next juror who answered was a coal-black negro, with large flat nose, flared nostrils, and a mouth extending from ear to ear, with a form measuring six feet three at least.

“‘What is your name?’

“‘Ebenezer, sah.’

“‘What is your Christian name?’

“‘Lord love your soul, boss, I iz no Christian nigger – I iz a stray sheep from de congregation!’

“‘Have you any other name besides Ebenezer?’

“‘Ah, you bet I has, boss – lots on ’em!’

“‘What are they?’

“‘Solomon, Absalom, Lazarus, Ebenezer, sah – dey calls me Laz for short.’

“‘Have you ever formed or expressed any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner at the bar?’

“‘Lord love your soul, boss, I never goes in a bar, I iz a temperance nigger; I iz an honorable member of de Murphy ‘stution!’

“‘You do not understand my question: have you formed or expressed any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of Miss Viola Bramlett?’

“‘How could a nigger ‘spress hisself about a lady ’cept he knowed her? I nebber seed dat ar gal afore in my born days!’

“‘Then you have never formed or expressed any opinion about her guilt or innocence?’

“‘Nebber ’spressed myself about white folks, nebber ‘sociates wid white people – dis nigger ’fesses to be a ge’man!’

“‘I think this is a competent juror, if the court please.’

“‘What say you for the defense?’

“Another careless wave of Mr. Rockland’s hand, and the juror was ordered by the court to take his seat in the box.

“It was very clear to my mind that Mr. Rockland was perfectly indifferent as to the material being collected on the jury, and it was also evident that he regarded the entire proceeding as a mere matter of form to be passed over in order to reach the inevitable verdict of guilty against the defendant.

“Out of a venire of three hundred men, they succeeded in securing a jury of brainless idiots, and if any man had been bound by contract to furnish a dozen fit subjects for a first-class lunatic asylum, he could have used that jury as a legal tender for the debt.

“While Mr. Quillet was reading the bill of indictment, Viola fixed her beautiful eyes on him, and listened attentively, and I could see the regular rise and fall of her bosom, while her breathing was as calm and gentle as that of a slumbering infant; not a muscle of her face moved, nor did any evidence of fear or excitement manifest itself on her features. Lottie’s hands trembled slightly as she pulled the leaves from a rose, and let them fall at her feet; no other signs of emotion appeared.

“The spectators and lawyers were listening in breathless silence, anxious to hear what sort of a plea the defendant was going to put in. Absolute quiet reigned throughout the spacious room, only broken by the solemn tones of Mr. Quillet’s deep bass voice, as he read the awful charge of willful and malicious murder against the beautiful prisoner. When he came to the last word in the bill he turned from the jury, and fixing his keen black eyes on Viola’s face, paused for a moment, as the prisoner rose to her feet and looked firmly into the face of the attorney-general. It was not a bold, brazen-faced, defiant stare, but it was such a calm, dignified, charming look as I suppose the angels in Heaven are wont to cast on each other.

“‘Miss Viola Bramlett,’ said Quillet, as he bent forward, ‘are you guilty or not guilty?’

“‘Not guilty!’ was answered in a firm but sweet tone.

“Then commenced a tremendous scramble among the spectators seeking to secure eligible seats, so as to hear the evidence. Flipout began to put the pressure on his nose, while the dark frown re-appeared on his brow.

“‘Mr. Sheriff,’ exclaimed the court, ‘if you do not instantly put an end to this confusion the court will impose a heavy fine on you; order those people to sit down, and station a deputy at each end of the aisle with instructions to keep it clear, and report the names of persons who disturb the business of the court. Have your witnesses called, Mr. Quillet, and proceed with the case.’

“As the vast crowd of witnesses began to move to the front, I was reminded of Byron’s ‘Vision of Judgment,’ wherein he gives such a sublime history of the trial of George III. When Saint Peter called on Satan for his witnesses, the King of darkness waved his hand down toward hell, when up rose a black cloud of lost souls, almost as numerous as the legions of locusts that infested the shores of Egypt. Now I do not by any means intend to assert that the crowd of witnesses who came forward to testify against Viola Bramlett were as numerous as the countless throng that come up to offer evidence against England’s dead king, but I merely give it as my candid opinion that his Satanic Majesty would have scorned the idea of introducing into a decent court such a motley crowd of witnesses as those who appeared to swear against Miss Bramlett. I do not apply these remarks to all of them, however, for Doctors Dodson and Plaxico were of the number. I was horrified to see Mrs. Ragland step forward and array herself on the side of the State. Could it be possible that Viola’s own aunt was to be a witness for the State? I looked at Lottie to see if any evidences of alarm appeared in her face, but nothing of the sort was perceptible – all seemed calm as an unruffled lake, while the corners of her mouth were closely drawn down. Zip Dabbs appeared at the head of the long column of witnesses, and if he had held the sun in one pocket, the moon in the other, the world on his shoulder, with the final destiny of the entire human race in the palm of his hand, he could not have put on a more self-important air than he did on that occasion. Tadpoddle appeared with his little eye on duty, while he was making an ineffectual effort to imitate his illustrious leader. Miss Jemima Tadpoddle, with her tall, gaunt form looming high above ordinary women, moved deliberately toward the clerk’s desk, and kissed the Bible with a smack as the oath was administered by the clerk. Miss Clattermouth stood by the side of her tall friend, looking like a Lilliputian by the side of Gulliver, with her little mouth handsomely puckered as if she were afraid that the important facts known to her would escape before she got a chance to tell them to the jury.

“As soon as the clerk completed the task of swearing the vast number of State witnesses, the court ordered the defense to call and swear theirs.

“‘If your Honor please,’ growled Mr. Rockland, as he deliberately rose up from his seat, ‘I believe we have no witnesses on the part of the defense.’

“‘Yes, we have, papa,’ said Lottie, in a whisper, as she plucked at Mr. Rockland’s sleeve, ‘we have some witnesses, but we do not wish to have them sworn just now.’

“Then the iron lawyer stated to the court that he had just learned the fact that the defense would probably have one or two witnesses, and asked permission to have them sworn at a later period, which was readily granted.

“‘We shall ask your Honor,’ continued Mr. Rockland, ‘to order the witnesses under the rule.’

“The court then instructed the sheriff to have all the witnesses conducted to a comfortable room adjacent to the court-room, and to station a reliable deputy with them, with orders to keep them together.

“‘Will you insist on the rule being enforced as to Doctors Dodson and Plaxico?’ inquired Mr. Quillet.

“‘No,’ said Mr. Rockland, ‘we consent that they may remain here.’

“Doctor Plaxico was the first witness who took the stand on the part of the prosecution.

“‘Doctor Plaxico, you will please face the jury, and then proceed to relate all the facts and circumstances connected with the death of Harry W. Bramlett.’

“The doctor coughed two or three times, wiped his brow with his handkerchief, ran his fingers between his cravat and throat as if the supply of air in his lungs was about to be exhausted, then, in a voice tremulous with emotion, he began as follows:

“‘Harry W. Bramlett died on the night of the 10th of February; his death was caused by poison administered to him by some person to me unknown. Death was produced by strychnine, large quantities of it being found in the stomach of the deceased. I am a practicing physician, and have been actively engaged in that profession for ten years past; could have saved the boy’s life if I had been called an hour sooner. Assisted at the autopsy, found considerable quantity of strychnine – more than sufficient to produce death.’

“‘If you found any strychnine concealed about the premises, please tell the jury all about it.’

“‘Immediately after the child expired I began to examine the premises with a view of securing any evidence which would tend to unravel the strange mystery that appeared to surround the affair; the circumstances having directed my suspicions to – ’

“‘Stop, Doctor Plaxico,’ said Mr. Rockland; ‘don’t say anything about your suspicions, if you please – just state the facts that are known to you.’

“‘Very well. I found a small phial of strychnine in a bureau drawer that stood in Miss Bramlett’s sleeping room, which apartment adjoined the one in which young Bramlett died. The phial was concealed in a little secret niche on the inside of a large drawer, among a great quantity of fine jewelry, and upon very careful inspection I noticed that some of the strychnine had been dipped out of the phial with the blade of a knife, or some other smooth substance, which had left its imprint plainly to be seen on the surface of that remaining in the phial. When Doctor Dodson arrived, I gave him a detailed account of what had occurred, and requested him to grant me a private interview, which he immediately did. As soon as Doctor Dodson and I were alone, I proceeded to describe all the symptoms that had presented themselves in young Bramlett’s case, at the same time informing him that the child had been poisoned.’

“‘Doctor Plaxico,’ said Quillet, ‘be so good as to describe the conduct of Miss Bramlett in every particular, from the moment of your arrival until the time you left the premises.’

“‘When I first arrived at the house, Miss Bramlett appeared to be in the deepest distress, wringing her hands and weeping bitterly; but when the boy expired, she ceased to weep and began to stare wildly about the room as if searching for something, while a strange, inquiring expression was perceptible on her features. I noticed that she frequently picked up the little blue papers that lay on the table, and examined each one attentively, then replacing them, she turned round and gazed at me with a mysterious look, as if she were waiting for me to say something. She would frequently glance at the door, as if she were expecting some one to enter, and any noise seemed to frighten her.’

“‘We now turn the witness over to the defense for cross-examination,’ said Mr. Quillet.

“‘You may stand aside, doctor,’ said the iron lawyer, ‘we will not trouble you with any questions.’

“‘We will examine Doctor Dodson now, Mr. Sheriff, if you will call him in,’ said Mr. Quillet.

“‘He is here, sir,’ replied the officer as Doctor Dodson came forward and went on the stand.

“‘Tell the jury all you know about the death of Harry W. Bramlett, Doctor Dodson – the cause of his death and all the circumstances appertaining to it.’

“The old physician was greatly agitated, though making a vigorous effort to conceal his emotions, but with only partial success. A tear glistened in his eye, while his hands trembled, and his breathing was short and labored.

“‘I am a practicing physician; was called to see young Bramlett a few days before his death; ah, ha! and found him suffering with ordinary chills and fever, don’t you see? ah, ha! Well, you see it was on the afternoon of February 10 that I prescribed quinine; making up five doses, I put them in blue papers and directed Miss Bramlett to administer one dose every two hours, commencing at four o’clock p. m., ah, ha! don’t you see? I was again called to visit the patient late at night, and when I arrived was horrified to find the child dead, ah, ha! Plaxico then requested me to grant him a private interview, and when we were alone he informed me that the deceased had been poisoned with strychnine; then I was greatly frightened, thinking it possible that I might have made a terrible mistake, don’t you see? I instantly went and examined the phial from which I had taken the medicine, which was left on the mantel, and found it was pure, unadulterated quinine, don’t you see? I then carefully inspected the contents of the blue papers on the table, and found two of them containing quinine, just as I had prepared them, while the other three were empty. I felt greatly relieved, because I was convinced that I had made no mistake, don’t you see how it is yourself, ah ha? Miss Bramlett said she had administered the medicine exactly according to my directions, commencing promptly at four, and when she gave the third dose at eight her brother soon thereafter became seriously ill. I assisted at the post-mortem examination, and found a large quantity of strychnine in the stomach, enough to produce death; am satisfied that deceased died from poison.’

“‘What was the nature of Miss Bramlett’s conduct while you remained in the room?’

“‘The poor child appeared to be paralyzed, stunned, as you may say, with grief; the fact is, she seemed to be perfectly crazed by the sudden death, ah ha! yes, don’t you see? She had a frightful, wild appearance difficult to describe!’

“‘Did you question Miss Bramlett about the phial of strychnine that Doctor Plaxico found in her bureau drawer?’

“‘Yes, I asked her for what purpose she had purchased the phial of strychnine? She hesitated a moment, and appeared to be greatly confused by the question; then she said that she would rather not tell, and I did not urge her any further. I asked her if any other person had been in the room after I had left the quinine and before her brother suddenly grew worse. She said that no one had entered the room, so far as she knew.’

“‘Did you examine the phial of strychnine? if so, how much had been taken out of it?’

“‘A small quantity had been dipped out with the blade of a knife, or some other smooth instrument, which had left its imprint on that which remained. The phial had the usual label on it, with the word “poison” in large printed letters, and a picture of a skull and crossbones just below.’

“Doctor Dodson was permitted to stand aside, Mr. Rockland declining to cross-examine him.